The sport of racing, including automobile racing as well as racing of other motor vehicles such as trucks, go-carts or "midget" racers, is a popular sport ranging from amateur to professional drivers. Unfortunately, accidents occur resulting in injury to the driver. One of the most dangerous accidents is when the automobile or other motor vehicle rolls over. Over the years, numerous safety features have been added to the motor vehicles in an attempt to prevent injury to the driver of the motor vehicle. Such safety features, including a roll cage or roll bar, have been installed in the race cars. However, in the case of a severe "rollover" accident, it often happens that the roof of the automobile or other motor vehicle is entirely or at least partially torn off. As a result, the driver's extremities, including arms and fingers, oftentimes protrude through the open roof of the race car or other motor vehicle. Protrusion of the extremities of the driver through the open roof of the race car during a rollover crash can result in serious injury to the driver.
Roof liners for motor vehicles have been suggested for a variety of purposes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,001,136 to Holderbach entitled Removable Wall Lining provides a detachable wall lining constructed of a flexible, washable material which has a series of elastic or resilient loops stitched to the lining. Hooks are placed through the loops to secure the lining to the ceiling of the automobile. The lining of Holderbach is disposed over the driver's seat to protect the headwear of the driver from soiling when the headwear comes in contact with the ceiling of the vehicle.
Another example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,642,317 to Swindlehurst entitled Vehicle Body Headlining, provides a vehicle body headlining having lifting wires which are received in pockets of the headlining and clips which are preassembled to each lifting wire. The combination of the clips and the lifting wires are used to hold the headlining in a secure fashion against the interior of the vehicle.
A further example is provided by U.S. Pat. No. 3,252,732 to Squier entitled Laminated Lining Material. Squier provides a laminated lining material for lining the ceiling of vehicles which is manufactured from a laminate of kraft paperboard having a fused resin surface and a decorative material adhered thereto. The single piece laminate is snapped into position in the interior of the vehicle and assumes the configuration of the ceiling of the vehicle. Use of the roof liners provided by U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,001,136 to Holderbach, 3,642,317 to Swindlehurst, and 3,252,732 to Squier to prevent injury to the extremities of a driver during a rollover crash clearly would be unsatisfactory. None of these roof liners prevents the penetration of arms or fingers through the roof liner during a rollover accident. In addition, each roof liner is not adaptable to permit removable installation in different passenger compartments, or in association with different roll cages or other safety structural designs.
An example of a restraint device for a motor vehicle is U.S. Pat. No. 3,695,698 to Trump entitled Restraint Device for Vehicle Cab Sleeper Bunk which provides a restraint device in the form of a web-like harness constructed of flexible straps. The web-like harness is attached to the interior of the cab structure of a truck by quick release buckles. Similar to the examples noted above, use of the restraint device provided in U.S. Pat. No. 3,695,698 to Trump to prevent injury to a driver during a rollover crash is also unsatisfactory. Trump does not prevent the arms and fingers of the driver from extending through the harness during a rollover crash. Moreover, it is not adaptable to permit removable installation in different passenger compartments, or in association with different roll cages or other safety structural designs.